Everybody’s other favourite pastime: comparing salaries! The deadline is 31 December 2011 for recruiter BC Management’s Asia BCM compensation study. Click here to complete the survey. Results for 2010: 27% of BCM people in Asia get SGD 50K or less per year, 23% get up to SGD 100K and another 23% get up  to SGD150K. 75% of the SGD 50K or less were in India. View the chart for Asia Pacific. Hey, you do this for love, not money, right? When you complete the Asia BCM compensation study, you get a free copy. Pass it on to your HR department.

We invite you to complete BC Management‘s annual research survey of business continuity compensation around the world at http://www.keysurvey.com/survey/345969/1423. Complete the study by 15 August 2011 to be entered into a raffle for free stuff.

Why?
• They’re recruiters! They want you to get paid more money.
• It’s world-wide, and has the most respondents from Asia.
• It’s the only place to find out what other BCM professionals get paid.
• You can take it in Chinese, Japanese or English.
• It’s completely confidential. Your contact details are NOT required.
• Start and stop when you like, but it takes only 10 minutes to complete.

The survey has three (3) sections: 1) BCM compensation, 2) BCM program management, or 3) both. You decide which surveys to take. If you don’t manage a BCM program, just take the compensation section. Please email BC Management if you have a question.

Want a sample? Here’s the Asia BCM compensation report from 2009: http://bit.ly/mojTey

What does it really mean for an individual to be “certified” in business continuity?

Like the euphemism “sub-prime”, the word “certified” is losing its meaning in Asia as the number and variety of BCM certifications and their purveyors grow like vines in the jungle. Attend a course, get the certificate and poof! You’re certified!

In Asia, for example, you can become certified by the BCM Institute as a Business Continuity Certified Professional (BCCP) with no prior BCM experience if you fork out US 840, spend one day in a class and another half day answering fifty questions on a test. You do not have to answer all of them correctly. That’s a fast-track bargain by any standard. The BCMI offers plenty more certifications, too.

Or you can become certified by The International Consortium for Organizational Resilience (ICOR) in Asia as a Certified Crisis Team Leader in three days for US 2,200. Or you can become a Certified Media Spokesperson for 800 bucks – in just nine hours (no examination required). I say, bring on the Exxon Valdez disaster: your spokesman is ready.

Long on ambition but short of time? You can be certified as both a Crisis Management AND Communications Professional (CMCP) in as few as four days. It costs US$3,700, but, hey, you only have to get a ‘C’ grade (75 percent) on the exam. You must also list two years of experience, but doing what?  Read more... (2623 words, 0 images, estimated 10:30 mins reading time)

We have the results of search firm BC Management‘s compensation survey of BCP professionals in Asia. A full-time BCP professional in Singapore earns US $78,000 per year (average). In Malaysia, she earns only US $31,000, but in Hong Kong, she earns US $180,000! We say:  恭喜 to her! More than 100 people in Asia responded to the anonymous, online survey that Forbes Calamity Prevention distributed in February. You may download a free copy of the Asia report here, or see compensation results for the USA, Canada or the UK & Europe.

Our colleagues at Juken Consultancy in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) spent last month trying to find any BCP regulations in Malaysia. The conclusion? Tidak apa. There are no BCP requirements in Malaysia – not from Bank Negara (the Central Bank), not from the Securities Commission, not for banks in Malaysia. There are “guidelines” (and suggestions, advice and encouragement) but no rules. Please, tell us we’re wrong.